Tag: animals

Oasys Mini Hollywood is a Wild West town theme park, one of the three Western desert parks located near Almeria. The entry price is 22 Euros for an adult and in our opinion it represent best value for money. What makes a difference between Oasys and the other two nearby studios, Fort Bravo and Western Leone, is that the visit to the large zoo which is also included in the price of the Wild West ticket!

Wicky Wild Wild West

As you start exploring the authentic looking western town with a stunning mountain backdrop, you can have a closer look at the 18th century houses or pop into the local bank, church, various shops or even local cemetery at the town’s outskirts. It’s all very atmospheric and instantly takes you back in time whether you want it or not! You can also buy one of the many souvenirs or head to the town square to take a photo on the horse next to a friendly cowboy. There is plenty of attractions and fun all around the place!

The main attractions, which always draw crowds, are live shows, both played twice a day: a pleasant to the eye can-can show staged in the Western-style saloon and a bank robbery show featuring gunfights and some chilling cowboy-style fist fights.

Lights, camera, action!

The famous Tabernas desert, in the middle of which the Oasis Mini-Hollywood is located, was once a favourite location for many film makers. In 1960s and 1970s, in the golden era of the European Westerns, many film producers preferred to shoot their films in the Spanish desert instead of going to the distant America or Africa. That’s because Almeria’s desert bears lots of resemblance to the stereotypical image of the Wild West. Three studios were created at that time: Texas Hollywood, Mini Hollywood, and Western Leone. The Italian film producer, Sergio Leone, shot “A Fistful of Dollars” as well as “The Good, or the Bad and the Ugly”, both starring Clint Eastwood, on the Tabernas desert. The Tabernas desert is occasionally used today for some smaller productions.

More than ordinary zoo

If seeing all the attractions in the western villages took you more than half a day, the rest of the day needs to be reserved for the unique zoo which is also part of the Oasys Park. You will find there lots of species which you won’t find in many zoos. There is a white tiger, lions, Iberian bear and many more. The enclosures for animals are very spacious and ingeniously made. Also, in the summer season the swimming pool complex is opened allowing you take off the heat quickly.

Selwo Marina in Benalmadena is the only dolphinarium in Andalusia. Out of the 11 dolphinariums in Spain, Selwo Marina is one of the most popular.

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Multiple attractions await you in the Benalmadena’s dolphinarium. Altough Selwo Marina is small, each and every experience there is simply unforgettable.

The Dolphin Show, which takes place twice a day, combined with a Sea Lion show, is of course a must-see for everyone. The show includes, for example, fabulous dolphins performing elaborate synchronized swimming with their trainer and catapulting the trainer into the air so that he can perform a dive. Dolphins can perform amazing gymnastic moves themselves – jumps, flips, somersaults 20 feet above the water, easy work.

During the Exotic Birds exhibition, with beautiful parrots flying literally inches above your head, you will understand why parrots can have the intelligence of a 5 year old child. Cockatoos, macaws and African grey parrot are the main actors there. In the Isla de Hielo you will see a small colony of penguins’ awkwardly climbing the rocks, swimming as swift as an arrow and socializing with each other.

Amazonia is another section of Selwo Marina that causes amazement among the visitors. Cuban Boa, Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman, Poison Dart frog, Red-Bellied Piranhas or Tarantula are the main celebrities here. If you come during the feeding time, you will be able to see how piranhas relentlessly and quickly bite whole chunks of flesh thrown into the water!

To get the best value from your money, we recommend to buy a full Selwo ticket that includes all the three Selwo attractions: Teleferico Benalmadena, Selwo Marina in Benalmadena and Selwo Aventura near Estepona. The full Selwo Ticket is cheapest off season. In winter the full Selwo ticket for an adult costs as little as 30 Euros (as of 2014/15 season)!

Located conveniently in the middle of Fuengirola, this popular stylish Bioparc is a family attraction that you cannot miss. This award winning zoo is one of the most popular attractions on the Costa del Sol.

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Once you enter the park, you will see a giant baobab tree, the icon of the zoo. All the state of the art enclosures are within a short walking distance of the tree, all well designed and interconnected. The designers have put a lot of thought in building the Bio Park! Usually, it takes between one and half hour and two hours to see everything that Bio Park Funegirola has to offer.

The top attraction of the Bio Park is definitely the Sumatran Tiger Enclosure. It’s possible to have a close view of the tiger through a glass barrier. There are four main sections of the park:

Madagascar, Equatorial Africa, Southeast Asia and the unique Indo-Pacific region. Chimpanzee, Northern white-cheeked gibbon, binturong, chevrotain, gorilla, leopard, orang-utan, red river hog and Malayan tapir are some of the most popular inhabitants of the Funegirola’s Bio Park.